The aim of the conference is to bring together national and international experts and authorities to review comprehensively the "state-of-the-art" in sickle cell disease. Six one half day sessions will be devoted to Molecular Genetics of Hemoglobin; Pathophysiology: Cellular and Molecular; Clinical Aspects of Sickle Cell Disease; Psychosocial Dimensions; Clinical Modifiers of Sickle Cell Disease; and Rheology and Microcirculation in Sickle Cell Diseases. In addition a 2 hour poster session will be held.